Arc 12 - Seven Waters
ZaiWin stumbled and fell on his knees, almost dragging Snow down with him.
Still holding on to him, Snow gasped in shock when he was suddenly and immediately drenched in icy, cold water. Wherever they were now, it was raining so hard that the sounds of rumbling thunder and falling rain were all he could hear.
He didn’t know how long they’d spent, going in and out of that darkness, jumping from place to place without as much as taking the time to take a deep breath. But the smell of wet dirt and fresh leaves immediately told him that they had finally left Nox’s rocky mountains. In fact, they weren’t even in Nox anymore, the land beneath his feet feeling strange and distant, cold and unfriendly.
The now wet body Snow kept clinging to tried to stand up, but his legs shook, his feet slipping on the mud beneath him, almost making him fall on his hands.
Snow grunted and, wrapping his arms around his neck, pushed ZaiWin back, trying his best to keep him in a somewhat upright position. A heavy forehead rested against his chest, ZaiWin’s long, wet hair sticking to Snow’s face and hands. And, for a moment, ZaiWin simply tried to catch his breath.
“We have to go …” Snow heard him whisper in a weak voice and instinctively held on to him even tighter.
“This is far enough!” he immediately decided, his heart beating anxiously at the feeling of ZaiWin’s body getting listless and heavier by the minute, but ZaiWin shook his head.
“We have to …”
“Take shelter from this rain!” he interrupted him and tried to push him back again.
What was he thinking!, he wondered, feeling angry at him when ZaiWin’s head drooped forward the instant he deprived him of his support. He was already in such a deplorable state! He couldn’t even stand on his own! Where else did he want to go?
Holding his limp arm, Snow pulled it over his own shoulders and wrapped an arm around his back.
“You have to help me! I can’t possibly lift you up on my own,” he said over the deafening sound of the rumbling thunder, almost having to shout to make himself heard.
For a moment, looking at ZaiWin’s pending head, Snow thought that he hadn’t heard him, that maybe he had lost consciousness. But then the hand covering his shoulder gripped his clothes and he finally moved, firmly placing one foot on the ground in front of him.
Holding him as firmly as possible, grunting from the huge effort, Snow did his best to help him back to his feet. But the moment Zaiwin was finally able to stand up again, his entire body simply toppled forward like a dying tree.
Moving before he could think, Snow wrapped both his arms around him and used his entire weight to push him back, his head pressing against his belly. ZaiWin always moved so fast, looking so light on his feet, that Snow could hardly believe how heavy he really was.
A soft chuckle reached his ears and, for a moment, Snow was really pissed at him. There he was, completely drenched, doing his best to help him, and that idiotic man still managed to find that whole situation amusing!
“It’s like … we’re back to the beginning …”
His words startled him a bit. What was he talking about? Was he feverish and delirious? He did feel hot, Snow considered, feeling ZaiWin’s high body temperature even through his wet clothes. On the other hand, he wasn’t all that sure that his temperature was abnormally high. After all, ZaiWin had always felt hot, to begin with.
In any case, they had to find someplace where ZaiWin could rest, he decided, focusing on more important things. But where were they?
Without letting go of the heavy body leaning on him, Snow tried to raise his head and look around. Rainwater filled his eyes, blurring his vision, forcing him to blink repeatedly until he could get a glimpse of the surrounding area. Lean shadows were everywhere. Trees, Snow quickly concluded. By the looks of it, they were in some kind of forest. Still, he had no idea if there were any towns or villages anywhere nearby, much less which way to go in order to find someplace safe where ZaiWin could rest.
ZaiWin’s body fell heavily over him, his hand gripping Snow’s clothes as hard as he could, as he did his best to keep standing, his panting breath heating Snow’s wet skin.
No matter, Snow firmly decided. If he couldn’t find a place for him to rest, he would just have to build one himself.
“Okay …” he muttered more to himself, and slipped under ZaiWin’s heavy arm again, looking around. “That tree. Let’s just reach that tree,” he chose the one that, through his blurry vision, looked the sturdiest, and did his best to drag ZaiWin towards it.
ZaiWin stumbled and groaned, and did his best to follow him wherever he was trying to lead him. The feel of the small trembling shoulders beneath his arm left a weak smile on his lips. He was still the same, even after all those years, even after all he’d been through.
Reaching the tall tree, Snow did his best to help him sit down, ZaiWin’s strong hands ending up dragging him down with him, until ZaiWin could finally relax, all strength abandoning his wet body.
Seeing him fall forward again, Snow hugged him and pushed him back against the tree. Afraid ZaiWin might just fall again should he released him, he just held on to him, closing his eyes, clearing his mind of how worried he felt.
A dome, he decided. A dome like the one Snow had raised using his golden daitai. But this one would be made of ice. Unmelting ice. Ice that would offer them cover from the cold rain.
The soft sound of the air freezing all around him filled his ears, and then everything was finally silent, the rumbling sounds of the storm thundering outside sounding low and distant.
Taking a deep breath, Snow placed both hands on ZaiWin’s shoulders and pushed him back, making sure he remained sitting in an upright position.
Was he even awake?, Snow wondered, gently holding his face between his cold, wet hands, carefully tilting his listless head back until it was leaning against the tree.
ZaiWin had his eyes closed, Snow immediately noticed, softly brushing away the locks of dark hair glued to his forehead and face. And he looked really pale. But, somehow, even completely wet like they both were, droplets of water sliding down his hair and chin, he still felt pleasantly warm to the touch.
Just to make sure that he’d really been successful, Snow wiped the water from his face and looked up, at the ice, crystal-like dome he had raised all around them. He could clearly see the rain falling heavily against its icy surface. But the moment the drops of water touched it they would immediately freeze, rolling down its smooth surface like small pebbles of crystal.
“We’re not safe… here …” Snow heard ZaiWin murmur and his eyes were immediately on him again. He was grimacing from the effort of trying to straighten his head, and Snow immediately held his face again, helping him look at him. ZaiWin had managed to open his eyes but his eyelids looked too heavy, constantly threatening to close again.
“We’re safe! You’re safe! I’m here! No one will find you!” Snow declared with absolute certainty, although he couldn’t tell where he’d managed to gather such unwavering confidence, and the thin slits of blue that were ZaiWin’s eyes fixed on him.
He was so weak now, that Snow’s heart hurt just from looking at him. Not because he felt sorry for him, or because he was afraid he might die or something. He knew perfectly well that ZaiWin wasn’t hurt. He’d just over-used his daitai, trying to take them both as far away from End of the World as possible. In other words, he was just exhausted and in deep need of rest. But still, seeing him this defenseless made Snow feel anxious and restless in return.
ZaiWin was always strong and independent, was always alert and ready to jump into action. He must really hate it, having to feel powerless like this. He must hate even more the fact that Snow was there to see him like this. That someone else was there, someone who could easily take advantage of his present weakened state. Right now, killing him would be as easy as to simply slide the blade of a knife across his pale neck.
Lightly caressing the warm skin beneath his fingers, Snow couldn’t help wishing that he could be a source of comfort to him, instead of a source of anxiety and apprehension. He wished ZaiWin could … trust him, he realized, staring into those blue eyes that looked slightly out of focus. Above all, he most definitely didn’t want anyone else seeing him like this! He wanted ZaiWin to depend on him and him alone, whenever he was feeling weak or hurt. Basically, he wanted ZaiWin to depend on him! Feeling his heart beating harder against his chest, Snow immediately realized the absurdity of his own thoughts, and he couldn’t help feeling startled at the discovery of that undeniable truth. He wanted ZaiWin to cling to him like he had, just now, as if his life depended on it. In fact, he actually wanted his life to depend on it!, he widened his eyes in horrifying shock. Which meant he wanted ZaiWin to stay with him until the day he died! He wanted him to need to stay with him until the day he died!
“Snow …?” the soft whisper that left ZaiWin’s lips startled him, dragging him from his spiraling thoughts. ZaiWin’s head felt heavy between his hands and Snow helped him lean back against the tree again, moving closer to him instead.
“Don’t go … anywhere …” ZaiWin breathed between his parted lips and Snow shook his head, before he realized that he probably couldn’t see his answer.
“I won’t. I’ll stay right here until you wake up.”
ZaiWin exhaled, his shoulders slumping, and closed his eyes.
“I couldn’t find you … I looked for you … but couldn’t find you … You were gone … I should have looked you until I found you … I should have … taken you with me … protected you … keep you safe … I’m sorry …”
Leaning closer to him to understand what he was mumbling, Snow couldn’t help staring at him in confusion. What was he talking about? Was he delirious after all? And yet the corners of ZaiWin’s mouth were tense, he noticed, softly caressing his lips that immediately relaxed at his touch. Somehow, whatever he was talking about was really weighing on him, distressing him, worrying him even.
Softly rubbing his nose against the line of ZaiWin’s jaw, Snow took a deep breath. ZaiWin always had this familiar, comforting scent about him. And it wasn’t because he had gotten used to it, from spending so much time close to him. Even back when he’d been terrified of the dark monster that had suddenly appeared in front of him, ZaiWin had still smelled disturbingly good. It was the kind of scent that made him want to borrow closer to him, snuggle against him, and sleep.
“I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere. Just sleep,” he whispered into ZaiWin’s ear and felt his body relax even further. It was really amazing that his voice alone could have such effect over someone like him, Snow thought, sitting between his legs, leaning against his chest. Snow was cold and wet, but ZaiWin’s warmth quickly seeped through his wet clothes.
Closing his eyes, Snow called forth his golden snow, infusing it with the ability to renew and restore, hoping it would help him recover a bit faster.
A heavy arm fell over his legs and Snow held his hand, guiding to where he knew ZaiWin wanted it to be, holding it firmly around his own waist.
A disturbing sense of familiarity washed over him. It was as if he’d been in that place before. Better yet, as if he had gone back in time and was reliving the same situation again. But by then he too was feeling too tired to reflect on such things. And so, feeling warm and comfortable, Snow simply allowed himself to fall asleep.
Language:
ZaiWin: Literally zai (blade) + win (chaos).
Daitai: Literally dai (light) + tai (mark), or Holy Markings, considered Heavenly Blessings. They’re the source of power.
Hehe like possessive shous
